US air strike kills 15 women and children in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2007/October/focusoniraq_October79.xml§ion=focusoniraq

BAGHDAD - A US air strike north of Baghdad has killed at least 15 women and children, one of the largest losses of civilian life in a single American operation since the war began, the military said Friday.

‘Nineteen suspected insurgents and 15 women and children were killed in an operation Thursday in the Lake Tharthar region north of Baghdad,’ a US military spokesman told AFP.

A statement from commanders said intelligence reports had indicated that members of Al Qaeda were meeting in the area.

‘Surveillance elements observed and confirmed activity consistent with the reports and supporting aircraft engaged the time-sensitive target,’ it said.